A very recently used poacher camp in Arkansas inbred country. I'm not particularly fond of the idea of being asked to squeal like a pig, no matter how nicely I'm asked, so I high-tailed it outta' there.
Mountain lion track, in my boot track, about 15 yards behind my coyote calling stand. Up a windmill tower when lightning struck ~ 50 yards away ( don't remember ever touching a ladder rung all the way down ) Coming out of the brush, on a 4 wheeler, right between a bear sow and her 2 cubs. Ticked off bull, on the fight, in the brush - we (bull, horse, and me ) went 'round and 'round for the best part of 30 minutes.
Forgot winding up in south Chicago - buses shut down -taxis shut down. The bald cancer patient, and the cowboy, didn't blend in well.
Trout fishing as a youngster in Banff National Park, I was on my knees, creekside, turning over rocks looking for hellgrammites . . . heard a grunting sound behind me, looked back and saw a big brown bear, 10 feet away, with his snoot in the air sniffing me out.
A pissed off, slobbering. bellering, holstein bull at the base of the tree he chased me up. Second was the shotgun slug hole that suddenly appeared two feet over my head in the tree I was leaning against.
We were at about 7,000 ft in a old abandon 1800s cabin looking out the glassless window when Lighting struck about 100 yards away during a summer mountain thunderstorm, It stripped the bark off in a 5 or 6 foot diameter Ponderosa pine in two places 4-6 inches wide from the top into the ground.
The flash and accompanying noise was tremendous and it killed the tree
For me, black bear. Late one afternoon .. maybe call it late evening, not dark but dimming .. I'd gone cross country then hit a major backpacking trail which I was using to head for home on. I knew the area well. In a small opening with a lot of brush there was a log end or stump where I didn't recall one being. Gave me a bad feeling. I slung my contender and pulled the S&W 629. As I got closer I could see it was not a stump, it was a big bear's head protruding out into the trail. With the heavy blackberry brush, there was only about a foot of clearance between it's nose and the brush. Fugger would not move. Didn't assert itself, just stood it's ground. I thumbed the hammer back and went by that bear with the muzzle about an inch from hair figuring if it jumped the gun would go off and maybe do some good. It never moved, just followed me with its eyes. Scared the living sh*t out of me. Growing up in that bear preserve, seeing sometimes a dozen in a day, I know a thing or three about them ... and I f**king hate them.
Lightning while I was in a boat. Trees don’t give shelter from lightning...quite the reverse Ever heard of lightning rods ?
Yep - I was told to Get into cover (rock ledge) and put one foot on top of the other and don’t touch chit... that creates a path across your torso...
Any 2 points you touch = a path for lightning, and it’s 50k volts per inch (so your 18” stance = enough potential across your feet to go up and a across you heart to knock you out and kill ya)... Elk die because of it time to time.
Had a pine Martin climbing up one of the tree poles of the moose stand I was sitting in. Got within 15 feet of before I told him to fuq off.
Walking a dry riverbed in South Africa hunting warthog. Came around a bend in the river and the guide and tracker start backing up, really fast. Look up and there’s a male Rhino 30 yards from us.
We backed off another 20 and I took some pics, while Mr. Rhino was kinda off-set to us. When he turned to face us directly, we knew it was time to go.
I was working on a forestry crew in Yosemite Natl Park in the spring of 1967. We were checking out some down trees on the south side of Yosemite Valley under a hanging valley with a trickle of water coming over but should have been much more water. I looked up and saw a wall of mud and debris coming over the cliff above and shouted a warning and the 3 of us took off. We ran thru a creek so fast I swear my feet never got wet! I came back a few days later and saw where a boulder had hit a tree about where we were standing that almost knocked over a very large yellow pine tree.
Then there was the time I was in Boy Sprouts in Oklahoma. Thunder storm was coming in and we were in the middle of a meadow. I looked at my buddy and every hair on his head was standing straight up. From the expression on his face so was mine. High tailed it into the tree line.
Working in Yosemite in 1970 I was checking for White Pine Blister Rust along a stream near Hetch Hetchy. I came upon a small meadow and the grass was all mashed down. I saw a deer laying dead in the middle of the meadow. I noticed 2 puncher marks in her neck and she was still warm to the touch. I was wondering what had happened and thought she must have gotten tangled in some barb wire but there was none around. Then I realized I had come upon a fresh lion kill. Needless to say I did not stick around.
A couple times I have been walking down a ridgeline, not paying attention like I should and as I come up and over a high spot, there's a griz too close for comfort. Those have always ended up OK though.
Scariest to me was up in the Wyoming Wind River mountains at 12,000 feet with lightning striking all around me. Several strikes I suspect were within 50 yards as I laid in the fetal position under a tarp sucking my thumb crying for mommy.
Black angus bull exploding out of a small patch of pines on top of a 10,000’ Peak in Wyoming. Right as it was getting light enough to see. Had to side step him to avoid getting run TF over.
1) Pine Martin that owned the deer carcass i was checking out - came through the pine at face level snarling, and nashing his team.. scary SOB.
2) Lightning below me when I was trout fishing in Estes park... hell of a storm lighting above / around / below me..
3) Hail & Tornado storm in KS - Sky turned Opal green / white... 75 mph winds, lightning, Chit went sideways fast...
Runner up - Lightning Snow.. while pheasant hunting in Goodland KS, literally saw sparks coming off the gun barrels .. just weird [bleep]
I had a pine martin stake it's claim to a moose I'd shot. It was hilarious watching his antics. He was going to have that moose no matter what.
The scariest was one Labor Day when I was bowhunting on a high ridge. A freak snowstorm moved in along with lightning. I couldn't see 50 yds but the thunder was shaking the trees. I had no idea how close the lightning was so I bailed off the top of the ridge and headed straight down into the draw.
About 15 years ago I was scouting a piece of land I had leased. It was a big open cut-over planted in short pines. I was walking thru some tall grass in a fairly open area when I took a step and felt the ground "give" a bit. I took a step back and noticed I'd stepped on an old rotten piece of plywood that was covered with dirt. I cautiously backed up and used my machete to lift the board, revealing a very old and very deep well. As I thought about it, I began to tremble thinking about what could have happened....
A couple times I have been walking down a ridgeline, not paying attention like I should and as I come up and over a high spot, there's a griz too close for comfort. Those have always ended up OK though.
Scariest to me was up in the Wyoming Wind River mountains at 12,000 feet with lightning striking all around me. Several strikes I suspect were within 50 yards as I laid in the fetal position under a tarp sucking my thumb crying for mommy.
About 15 years ago I was scouting a piece of land I had leased. It was a big open cut-over planted in short pines. I was walking thru some tall grass in a fairly open area when I took a step and felt the ground "give" a bit. I took a step back and noticed I'd stepped on an old rotten piece of plywood that was covered with dirt. I cautiously backed up and used my machete to lift the board, revealing a very old and very deep well. As I thought about it, I began to tremble thinking about what could have happened....
I don't know about scared - startled certainly. I'm sure the adrenaline rush and elevated heart rate didn't last more than 10 minutes or so.
Fresh 6 inch dump of snow on top of older 18 inches or so. Fluffy, flat, pristine, unmarked snow cover. Dead calm, nothing showing or moving as I plowed through it.
Peaceful......
About half a dozen grouse simultaneously exploded out of the snow all around me.
Durned near left yellow and/or brown stains on all that nice white snow.
A bit of a scare the first time I crossed my own trail. Heavy rainforest, got turned around which is not hard as visibility is only a few yards. I remember thinking who made all this mess walking through here, then it hit me lol. Luckily had a major feature nearby, a river I could compass towards, so it was a lesson that wasnt learnt too hard
I was hiking through the woods in West Virginia and came across these two scary looking dudes with really really bad teeth they had some shiny white boy bent over on his knees making him squeal like a pig. There was Dueling Banjo music in the background.
West Virginia is a scary damn place. Y'all best look for land in Montana.
I came between a black bear sow and her cub totally by accident one time. She came at me on a dead run. If she'd wanted me dead, I wouldn't be writing this today. I'm convinced there's few things in this world that can rival the fury of a protective mamma bear.
Opening day of Elk season. Humping up the mountain at 5am, 1/2 mile into dark timber, with 6" of fresh snow. Come around a bend in the trail and see fresh cat tracks coming out of a tree and going up the hill, in my direction. Tracks were big enough that a .375H&H cartridge easily fit inside the pug mark without touching the sides. Two to three minute gut check before proceeding with a "heightened sense of alertness"...
Reading above, glad to see that I am not the only one who gets uneasy when there is a kitty in the area...
Scary isn't the right word. I ended up sandwiched between a cow moose and her calf in RMNP. That was a tense few seconds.
Seeing my first grizzly is something I'll never forget. Grew up reading everything I could and finally found one in yellowstone feeding on an elk carcass. What a powerful and impressive critter. It owned the woods and it knew it.
The worst situation I ever was in I fell through some ice during a January deer hunt here in Ohio. After finally getting myself drug out I had a long cold walk to get back to the truck. Stripped nearly everything off when I got there and blasted the heater.
Another one... Hiking pikes peak. Felt like every hair on my body stood on end. I don't know how close to getting struck by lightning that is. But certainly closer than I wanted to be.
Last year while hunting. New smart phone suddenly buzzed, showed a news alert w/Pelosi's face on the screen.
Beyond that horrendous shock, 300+ black bear exploding out from under some hemlocks while I was sitting in a small clearing during deer season years ago. Heard something coming full tilt boogie up above me. Branches snapping, rocks rolling down the wooded slope and there it was, maybe 30 feet in front of me. Guys were pushing that mostly dense hemlock slope, kicked the bear out ahead of 'em. Had already been a few doe come past, long before the bruin showed up..
Third scariest thing, tree limbs snapping off in a sudden wind storm one morning. Decided I'd been out long enough.
more than once i was out in the woods in scary weather. heavy winds, big trees falling, etc. almost hurricane conditions one time. not fun. and a few years ago i had 3 bear cubs within about 20 feet of me and a big old sow standing on her hind legs bellowing at me. i was closer to the cubs than she was. meanwhile i had a 22 rifle.
Shawl granny on LZ Saunders and her human silhouette upper body buddies looking at me from behind trees in area 50 as I was walking in one morning about an hour before shooting light. It got to the point where I just sat down with my back against a big ole oak. TC 50 cal renegade cocked, set trigger pulled waiting on it to get light enough to walk out and leave the place. I dont hunt that spot in the mornings . Refuse to walk in their in the dark. I might hit it once or twice a year in midday.
Caused me to scout new ground in area 50 about 1.5 miles NW of "AO scary".......
Shawl granny on LZ Saunders and her human silhouette upper body buddies looking at me from behind trees in area 50 as I was walking in one morning about an hour before shooting light. It got to the point where I just sat down with my back against a big ole oak. TC 50 cal renegade cocked, set trigger pulled waiting on it to get light enough to walk out and leave the place. I dont hunt that spot in the mornings . Refuse to walk in their in the dark. I might hit it once or twice a year in midday.
Caused me to scout new ground in area 50 about 1.5 miles NW of "AO scary".......
Bow hunting with a 45 lb. recurve sitting in a tree 8' up in the early 70's just getting light where you can see I hear steps in the thick leaves coming from behind me a female African Loin walks under the tree gets 20' from the tree turns looks at me and lets out two roars...then a second loin roared 50' away in a thicket I couldn't see....didn't know wether to $hit or go blind.... 2-Lions had escaped from a enclosure about 1.5 miles away....I didn't even know they escaped...didn't leave the tree for a couple hours until the farmer was driving the edge of the field with a truck made the 50 yards to the truck in about 3 steps....he had a 30-06 and was looking for the loins fearing they might kill one of the cows in the field.... Late in the afternoon the owner of the loins found them on the farm I was hunting....there was 25-30 people out looking for the lions all armed with deer rifles and shotguns....
Shawl granny on LZ Saunders and her human silhouette upper body buddies looking at me from behind trees in area 50 as I was walking in one morning about an hour before shooting light. It got to the point where I just sat down with my back against a big ole oak. TC 50 cal renegade cocked, set trigger pulled waiting on it to get light enough to walk out and leave the place. I dont hunt that spot in the mornings . Refuse to walk in their in the dark. I might hit it once or twice a year in midday.
Caused me to scout new ground in area 50 about 1.5 miles NW of "AO scary".......
Laugh if ya will. IDC....
"Shawl granny"? What's that?
A ghost looking for something on the ground. Lots of hunters on Ft Campbell have had encounters all over the back 40. Pretty erie to hear some of the stuff. Especially if someone you have never met describes a encounter along the same of what you had.
Then have a co worker talk about his encounter years later is pretty unnerving.
"Shawl lady" has been seen by me and 2 others I know of.
Cemeteries, graves , old homesteads going back to the 1770,s and 1780,s to the early 1800,s and forward all over the place.
Govt imminent domained the land in the early 40,s for WW2.
Many years ago , when stationed at Ft. Lewis , several of us went hunting in the Olympic peninsula. It was some freaky stuff that none of us were familiar with. A buddy and I were deep into the forest primeval, on this floating mass with prehistoric looking plants. Our compasses went bonkers and would not work, it was kind of unsettling. We eventually made it out to a road and got our bearings before dark. Ranger don't get lost, just a might bit turned around from time to time!
Sitting on a stump and a Great Horned Owl decided he was going to use me a s a landing zone. I don't know who was more surprised him or I, at any rate that fugger had a good set of air brakes!
Years ago I was baiting bears in Oregon. Arrowed a chocolate bear just as it was getting dark. It ran off and I was waiting a bit before tracking. Then I hear a bear come back and it was woofing and snapping it’s teeth. That went on for 30 minutes or so, then stopped. I waited a while longer and climbed down from my tree stand. There was a large pool of blood at the base of the tree I was sitting in. I doubt the bear was after me, but you never know.
And another one. Was in Zimbabwe looking for Cape buffalo. Had two black trackers 30-40 yards in front of me and my PH. They were following a herd of Buffalo. We were moving slowly in some thick stuff. Suddenly the black trackers ran past us in the opposite direction we were headed. And the trees and brush behind them was moving, a lot. Three elephants busted through the brush at at 50 yards and were rapidly coming our way. My PH hollered get behind something. The PH raised his rifle and hollered at the elephants. They stopped and reversed direction. The PH said something must have spooked them to us and they really were not charging us. That was exciting.
And another one. Was in Zimbabwe looking for Cape buffalo. Had two black trackers 30-40 yards in front of me and my PH. They were following a herd of Buffalo. We were moving slowly in some thick stuff. Suddenly the black trackers ran past us in the opposite direction we were headed. And the trees and brush behind them was moving, a lot. Three elephants busted through the brush at at 50 yards and were rapidly coming our way. My PH hollered get behind something. The PH raised his rifle and hollered at the elephants. They stopped and reversed direction. The PH said something must have spooked them to us and they really were not charging us. That was exciting.
In Tanzania checking lion bait hung from a big baobab tree in a 1/2 acre clearing adjacent to riverine thicket. 10 am and the clearing was empty. Bait had signs of lion action the night before. I was unarmed.
Stood around with PH and trackers talking for 5 minutes when two male lions woke from naps about 30 feet away in the thicket.
They stuck their heads out a roster mightily at us and bounded away.
An illegal hunter of the property I was hunting pointing his rifle at me! The human animal is a real threat in the woods.
Yup. It wasn’t a wolf coming up behind me, the bear tracking me to the base of my tree, the trees going over around me in a 100 mph wind, or the blue flame arc off my graphite fishing (lightning) rod in bad weather. It was the deranged local that wanted the woods all to himself.
Broken glass in the trail, piano wire strung, ATV sabotaged, trees cut over the trail, tire stems removed and Nylon tree stand straps cut nearly through. That guys was absolutely unpredictable.
Driving to camp one night in Zambia. Stopped on the “road” got out to take a leak. Got in and drove 200 yards when we came up behind a big male leopard walking in front of us. Must have stopped to pee right behind him.
Then in SW Cameroon came up on a male silverback gorilla sleeping. He woke and jumped up about 15 from me, flashed his teeth and said in gorilla “Oh [bleep]” and took off one way and I said “Oh [bleep]!” And ran the other!
Then the time a Black Forest Cobra slithered out of the grass and over the hood of the vehicle. The trackers jump out likes bomb went off
Fishing with a buddy, and he informed me I was stepping on a rattle snake. I look down and it was the biggest blow snake I ever saw, but with rattle snake echoing in my mind, I needed to clean my shorts on that one.
Worst was when I fell through the ice in -30 degree weather. Had a two mile hike to get home, and I was a ice sickle when I finally made it.
And another one. Was in Zimbabwe looking for Cape buffalo. Had two black trackers 30-40 yards in front of me and my PH. They were following a herd of Buffalo. We were moving slowly in some thick stuff. Suddenly the black trackers ran past us in the opposite direction we were headed. And the trees and brush behind them was moving, a lot. Three elephants busted through the brush at at 50 yards and were rapidly coming our way. My PH hollered get behind something. The PH raised his rifle and hollered at the elephants. They stopped and reversed direction. The PH said something must have spooked them to us and they really were not charging us. That was exciting.
Had something similar in Zim. Hunting buff and going back to the rig. Herd of ele cows kept false charging us in and out of the jess. PH says, "Put one over her head". 375 didn't even phase her. Finally they turned and strolled off. Turned out the cow I shot over had a calf probably less than a week old. Not scary but sure was fun.
Heard the woods exploding around me in the pitch black. Sounded like Bigfoot and 12 elephant friends. I stood still as possible gripping my muzzleloader tight and waiting for death lol
30 minutes later the light showed up and I saw probably 30 turkeys had come thru the trees and landed on the hillside 100 yards away. Laughed like hell
Driving to camp one night in Zambia. Stopped on the “road” got out to take a leak. Got in and drove 200 yards when we came up behind a big male leopard walking in front of us. Must have stopped to pee right behind him.
Then in SW Cameroon came up on a male silverback gorilla sleeping. He woke and jumped up about 15 from me, flashed his teeth and said in gorilla “Oh [bleep]” and took off one way and I said “Oh [bleep]!” And ran the other!
Then the time a Black Forest Cobra slithered out of the grass and over the hood of the vehicle. The trackers jump out likes bomb went off
Sitting on a stump and a Great Horned Owl decided he was going to use me a s a landing zone. I don't know who was more surprised him or I, at any rate that fugger had a good set of air brakes!
I had one that flew in and knocked my cap off as I was blowing on a rabbit squealer varmint call in my 16 ‘ tripod late one evening at dusk. I damned near jumped out of that thing. 🤠
I literally ran into a big male black bear once, in my young and swift days, ran around a big boulder next to a rushing stream in the Adirondacks and there he was, close enough to shake hands, he ran off, I wasn’t particularly scared.
Once out in the open while doing a bird count on Camp Bullis a front came through, bolts of lightning all around not too far away, a couple close enough I saw them strike. I got to the lowest point I could find and waited it out.
Scaredest I’ve been was on the shore of Lake Erie years ago, wooded area, I was with a woman. I suddenly got the feeling that something real bad had happened where we were so I got us out of there right away. At the end of dirt road out was a house, inbred-looking family all standing on the front lawn, just staring at us as we drove away. Dunno if the scared feeling was all in my head.
At the park where I sometimes walk my dogs in the woods at night there’s a trail loop that I tended to avoid, I just felt like there was a bad feeling there, tho Ive walked it in daylight 100 times. Anyhoo some years back a guy in his sixties out geocaching at night was found dead right there. Dunno how seriously to take that either, just seems like some places have a bad vibe.
Nitwits coming up the mountain late and using their rifle scope on me to see if I was an Orange elk.
This!!! Apparently I resemble either a: 1.) Orange Elk 2.) Orange Deer 3.) Orange Pronghorn
I have been in thunderstorms in the mountains, tornadoes on the plains and had a mountain lion growl at me in the dark. Yeah, those things get your heart rate up, but seeing some halfwit staring at you thru the Tasco atop his brand new 30/06 makes me scared.
The first was when I was in Boy Scouts. We out camping, we had a game we called “Fox-n-Hounds”! It was done at night, with a small group going out into the woods, and several minutes later anothe group would go and search for them. If you found them (or one), you must chase them down, “tag” them, and they were removed from the game. It was a fairly moonlit night, I was chasing and getting close to one of the foxes. As he was passing beneath a large limb over the trail, a Bobcat silhouetted against the sky, jumped from the limb....landing in the trail right in front of my “fox”! About two seconds of shear terror!
The other, when I was stalked by “Bigfoot”....or that was my first thought! after an evening elk hunt until dark, we were walking a well used path back to the truck. The path carried us along a noisy little creek, which completely muffled any sound from the well used trail. As there was a little moonlight, I prefer “not” to used lights.....preferring my eyes to be adjusted to the low light conditions. I was 3rd person in line...when it happened! I’m not sure if I heard something or “sensed” something behind me. As I turned, it was less than 3 feet behind me, approximately 7 to 8 feet in height and about 3 feet wide at it’s widest point. I got out a guttural grunt in absolute horror while attempting the bring my rifle to action.....but, it was so close I couldn’t bring the rifle around. It was at that moment, I realized that it was a horse and rider. The rider was a young kid, asleep in the saddle.The other riders of the group all got a big laugh, while I was composing myself and verifying I hadn’t “soiled” myself!
There are many others.....but, it would use up too much internet! memtb
Nitwits coming up the mountain late and using their rifle scope on me to see if I was an Orange elk.
This!!! Apparently I resemble either a: 1.) Orange Elk 2.) Orange Deer 3.) Orange Pronghorn
I have been in thunderstorms in the mountains, tornadoes on the plains and had a mountain lion growl at me in the dark. Yeah, those things get your heart rate up, but seeing some halfwit staring at you thru the Tasco atop his brand new 30/06 makes me scared.
One of the main reasons I quit hunting public land in Colorado during Rifle Season.
Almost fell into 2 open wells, many miles and years apart. I had to buttstock a doe with my flintlock after I missed the shot. There were 2 does, one ran around me, the other ran into me. More funny than scary, but unique.
3 bear close calls, wet your pants type, boat & water, although I was use to chitty water....how bout diving.....the time with the 3 sea lions... ..or out of air at 83 feet ?? ...the best one I got is them silver dollar eyes about 9feet in the air ..then IT running off breaking trees like sticks ...good lord...
LOL.. I was walking for Ruffed grouse in upstate NY, I was walking the outside the edge of a big pasture With a big dip in the middle of the field up on top that was a good 2 miles back from anyone. I was on top of a raise to check out the fox that normally den up there and happened to look into the shallow dip in them middle of the field and saw a big red picnic blanket... No basket. They where having fun... it was hard not to shoot a squirrel or something just to make them jump, but I left it alone.
Originally Posted by hanco
Walked up on some people fuucking in the woods. This big ole nekked fat girl jumped up, scared hell out of me.
End of day, last drive in the late flintlock season, it was t along me longer to get to the watchers than I thought it should. I was thinking I might be lost.
Saw tracks in the snow, and thought they belonged to the guy I walked in with, so I just followed them. Getting dark a few minutes later when I got to thinking, "He had Rocky boots, those aren't his tracks".
Had fresh grizzly tracks across my driveway just outside my gate this morning. Makes me a bit edgy when it's just me, but when my kid is with me I'm a whole lot more so lol. Things seem to come into focus more when you head back to the truck and there's sign on top of yours
Back in the old days I used to hunt with my dog during elk season. I hunted alone in grizzly country and never worried too much as I knew my dog would be a better backup than most hunting partners. Was tracking a small group of elk into one of my favorite parks when we came upon a fresh bear track. I wear size 12 boots and the track was a good 3 inches longer than my boot. I decided to let that bear alone. I've met many bears face to face over the years but the size of that track impressed me. We were a long way from the end of the road and I knew that even if I killed an elk that day that bear would have it before I could get back to pack it out. I wasn't scared but never saw a bear track like that one before or since.
Came across an outdoors drug lab while scouting deer sign in an wooded sand dune area NW Michigan. While leaving same deer hunting area at dusk following dozens of rounds fired nearby and bullets flying overhead encountering a fellow dressed in black with military ammo vest and an AK. DNR Conservation Officers confiscated his Airstream trailer which was parked nearby shortly thereafter.
I l shot a Cape buffalo in the lungs in Zimbabwe. It took off and we followed the trail. It was nearly dark--night falls very fast in the tropics--and there were big black boulders of basalt all around that looked like they might be buffalos. Just as the PH was opening his mouth to tell us to return to the truck, I saw one "boulder" that stood upright about 30 feet away. It was so dark I could not tell if it was facing us or facing away. I shot center of mass and absolutely nothing happened!
It was then I realized I had not chambered a round when we started, and, of three in the magazine, only one shot was left. 30 feet from a wounded buffalo. That was scary. I fired the last shot and the buff fell over, scrabbling around on the ground.
The PH said, "Reload and shoot again." Oh, ya' think I should?
Shot at a deer just before dark. Looking for arrow n any sign of a hit. I missed deer clean. Was in days before I learned 25 ft up a tree need aim low! Dark now. Looked up top of ridge n there was the appearance of a man dressed in white. I thought it was Jesus! It was the moon coming up with trees blocking out all but the form of a man. Scarey...at the time I was not ready to meet him. Yes scarey. I have since found mercy. Thank you Lord.
Another one: When I was young and mule deer were more plentiful and less wary, my father, two of his friends, and I hunted out of Rawlins, Wyoming. By noon three of us had taken bucks. The fourth guy had missed two. As we were eating lunch, the biggest buck I have ever seen came over a mountain perhaps 500 yards away. So this guy took a shot. From the dust, I thought he missed behind and low, but the deer fell down and was hidden by the bushes. Me being the youngest, the guide and I were tasked with going up and bringing back the "dead" deer.
About the time we got up there, I heard a snort and saw the deer staring at us from about 15 feet uphill. It had fire in its eyes and slobber drooling from its mouth. After an instant it started coming for us and I turned to run. But the guide put his hand on my shoulder and whipped out his Ruger Single 6. We were so close that I could see each shot hit the deer's head. After about 4 shots, the deer collapsed.
It turned out that the guy had broken both hind legs at the ankle, and the deer was probably just trying to hunch itself down hill. Also, the guy's scope was loose.
Duck hunting, buddy and I standing on a pond bank in some tall stuff and he starts high steppin it out into the shallows. Right at legal shooting time too. He eased back over to me and evidently about a 4-500lb boar hog stepped out to his right about 10ft from him. Next thing you know, its starts breathing down the back of our necks it felt like and wouldn't leave. Some horror movie breathing...Alien style, we were frozen still. My buddy was wiggin out, turned around and unloaded duck loads in its direction. Should have seen the spot this big ol' hog was bedded down in. Funny to me, scared him to death.
Friend of mine walking into the stand one am saw what he thought was an old Volkswagen dumped into the woods, he walks closer and closer up to, next thing you know he had walked up on a huge black bear.
I was hunting an old strip mine in the Big South Fork. I'd been there many times before and on the Bow Opener in 1999, I decided to try a new area of the mine. I got a wee bit turned around and decided to plant myself and wait for the light to come up. There was a grassy clearing ahead of me, and I knew I'd found the place. The light came up and the "grass" was actually the tops of pine trees. I was just on the edge of a 60' cliff. It wasn't marked on the topo.
We had a deer stand that we called the eagles nest from years of brushing it up. The flying squirrels loved it. Nothing like sitting there at last light and have squirrels landing all around your head and body. How one never jumped on me I would never know, I know I came close to falling out of the tree a time or two. Theyd get in the brush and just chase each other around, making their little chirp sounds and you are just sitting in the middle of it.
MANY YEARS ago in high school there were persistent rumors of a group of devil worshippers in the area. A group of us wanted to validate the rumor. We knew where they supposedly were so we went. Climbed up a pretty steep hill in the dark on the old water works road, got to the top and found a smoldering fire with embers still glowing and no one was around (that we know of). Didn't take nearly as long to get to the bottom of the hill as it took to get to the top.
Out scouting last week went down big hill to a creek then up the other side . When I headed back I had gone downstream of where I initially crossed the creek - the water where I had crossed was trickling along pretty good . But now the creekbed was dry ? Thought maybe it had Y'd off or something , looked at compass and knew I had to be close . Anyway the water was disappearing into the abyss , brushy/rocky/dead leaves spot - water running but where to I didn't know . Must have been a Cavern underneath me , not too scary but gave me an odd feeling .
Pre season scouting, Klamath Natl Forest, stumbled into a huge 3 acre pot grow, complete with irrigation and camo netting. I backed out very carefully and quietly, and sure enough 6 weeks later, big front page news article on a big Mex cartel bust in the same drainage. DEA deported the farmers after questioning, they all claimed the Cartel was holding their families in Mexico hostage, to prevent the farmers from stealing the bud and running with it. Firearms were confiscated. It's a vicious industry. Now the Mex cartels are fading and the Hmong rule the industry in our county. Think about that next time "legal pot" comes up on your state's ballot.
About 15 years ago I was scouting a piece of land I had leased. It was a big open cut-over planted in short pines. I was walking thru some tall grass in a fairly open area when I took a step and felt the ground "give" a bit. I took a step back and noticed I'd stepped on an old rotten piece of plywood that was covered with dirt. I cautiously backed up and used my machete to lift the board, revealing a very old and very deep well. As I thought about it, I began to tremble thinking about what could have happened....
I was standing in a tree stand in Ft. Stewart bow hunting one morning. I heard all this noise coming through the woods, down an old logging road I was close to. Wasn't much I could do, I was in the right area and legally hunting. I just waited and hoped they would pass me by. Most did, about 100 yards away. All except one. This tank came rolling right down the trail I was hunting on and passed about 20 feet in front of me. I think I scared the guy in the turret about as bad as he and his tank scared me. I'd have felt a lot better if he hadn't been tracking me with his machinegun like I was going to shoot an arrow at him.
4 years ago camped at 11000ft in the Raywah Wilderness for a Sept. high country Mule deer hunt. Lightning storm from hell rolled in. Extreme winds, lightning, hail.
The lightning was so constant it was almost like daylight. The storm lasted to 4:30 am. Asked myself what in hell am I doing here
I kept thinking about the aluminium cross stays.
The Hilleberge tent was fine and the next morning I got a nice4x4.
The absolutely scaredest I had been, prior to the rattler above, was in Mt Rogers Va. on an afternoon break from turkey hunting (you can only hunt to noon), I was calling coyotes/bobcats on the side of a ridge with a 300 yd view all around. I had a large rock outcropping in front of me and one two feet behind me. Had not seen anyone in 3 days up there. Someone or thing tapped me on the back. I froze. WTF. Not enough room for a cow, bear or person to get back there. Had heard of bobcats sneaking up on guys who were calling them. Sitting there with a 25-06 in my hands, nearly [bleep] my pants, thinking what the hell could that be, and I got another tap on the back. Now I was going crazy and could not get up the nerve to turn around. FINALLY, i sucked it and turned around to see my seat cushion tied to my belt, blowing in the breeze. I tried to get up to walk back to camp and I could not stand up I was so weak. What a puzzy.
Pre season scouting, Klamath Natl Forest, stumbled into a huge 3 acre pot grow, complete with irrigation and camo netting. I backed out very carefully and quietly, and sure enough 6 weeks later, big front page news article on a big Mex cartel bust in the same drainage. DEA deported the farmers after questioning, they all claimed the Cartel was holding their families in Mexico hostage, to prevent the farmers from stealing the bud and running with it. Firearms were confiscated. It's a vicious industry. Now the Mex cartels are fading and the Hmong rule the industry in our county. Think about that next time "legal pot" comes up on your state's ballot.
I found about 20 plants one time. Them mfers were about 10ft tall.
I relocated 5 of them.
Went and told the landowner I found about 15 pot plants. Me and him chopped them down.
Pre season scouting, Klamath Natl Forest, stumbled into a huge 3 acre pot grow, complete with irrigation and camo netting. I backed out very carefully and quietly, and sure enough 6 weeks later, big front page news article on a big Mex cartel bust in the same drainage. DEA deported the farmers after questioning, they all claimed the Cartel was holding their families in Mexico hostage, to prevent the farmers from stealing the bud and running with it. Firearms were confiscated. It's a vicious industry. Now the Mex cartels are fading and the Hmong rule the industry in our county. Think about that next time "legal pot" comes up on your state's ballot.
I found about 20 plants one time. Them mfers were about 10ft tall.
I relocated 5 of them.
Went and told the landowner I found about 15 pot plants. Me and him chopped them down.
aint diversity great. it is our strength as a nation
The army doesn’t use live ammo for maneuvers except on closed ranges.
Yeah, The Army wasn't supposed to be in that area either, but there was a bunch of them... I was close enough to see that the gun was loaded with blanks. We were about level and maybe 20 feet apart. I didn't want him accidentally shooting a bunch of blanks at me either. He probably got a kick out of it once he got over the surprise of seeing a guy standing in a tree about 20 feet from him that he didn't have a clue was there.
First day PA hunting season back in the late 80’s and my cousin and I are walking through a field and here two whizzes go by our heads and immediately here the report of the rifle. That is really unnerving.
We don't get many rattlers in SC, but this was full growed cane break rattler. Grandson saw him, I shot him.
I've killed 3 of these since labor day while deer hunting. Dam near stepped on two of them. They dont show up so purdy good in the woods when they're just laying there in a coil.
Ive hunted brown bears, grizzlies, wolves, mountain lions...not too scary. Bad weather and failing transportation many miles from civilization is the scariest thing I've endured.
All horribly pale to what military combat veterans have seen.
The absolutely scaredest I had been, prior to the rattler above, was in Mt Rogers Va. on an afternoon break from turkey hunting (you can only hunt to noon), I was calling coyotes/bobcats on the side of a ridge with a 300 yd view all around. I had a large rock outcropping in front of me and one two feet behind me. Had not seen anyone in 3 days up there. Someone or thing tapped me on the back. I froze. WTF. Not enough room for a cow, bear or person to get back there. Had heard of bobcats sneaking up on guys who were calling them. Sitting there with a 25-06 in my hands, nearly [bleep] my pants, thinking what the hell could that be, and I got another tap on the back. Now I was going crazy and could not get up the nerve to turn around. FINALLY, i sucked it and turned around to see my seat cushion tied to my belt, blowing in the breeze. I tried to get up to walk back to camp and I could not stand up I was so weak. What a puzzy.
I lol'd, crsides. You told it well. Big ol snake there. Dayum.
Elk hunting I had a mountain side cut loose in front of me about 200 yards away. 20,000 metric tons on dirt, rock and trees came sloughing off a clear cut due to heavy rain and wind.
15 more minutes and I’d have learned how to surf a mountain.
I felt it first. Then I heard it. The loud cracking of timber and roots being ripped out of the soil was nothing short of powerful.
😎
PS
Cougars suck too. A hunter just got nailed a few weeks ago in an area I frequent for deer hunting.
Several Tom’s have been taking in this area ranging in weight for 130’s to 170’s. I hate big pussy! LOL 😎
Elk hunting I had a mountain side cut loose in front of me about 200 yards away. 20,000 metric tons on dirt, rock and trees came sloughing off a clear cut due to heavy rain and wind.
15 more minutes and I’d have learned how to surf a mountain.
I felt it first. Then I heard it. The loud cracking of timber and roots being ripped out of the soil was nothing short of powerful.
😎
PS
Cougars suck too. A hunter just got nailed a few weeks ago in an area I frequent for deer hunting.
Several Tom’s have been taking in this area ranging in weight for 130’s to 170’s. I hate big pussy! LOL 😎
Landslides and cougars sounds like Spring Break 1998! 😂😵😂😵😂
Pre season scouting, Klamath Natl Forest, stumbled into a huge 3 acre pot grow, complete with irrigation and camo netting. I backed out very carefully and quietly, and sure enough 6 weeks later, big front page news article on a big Mex cartel bust in the same drainage. DEA deported the farmers after questioning, they all claimed the Cartel was holding their families in Mexico hostage, to prevent the farmers from stealing the bud and running with it. Firearms were confiscated. It's a vicious industry. Now the Mex cartels are fading and the Hmong rule the industry in our county. Think about that next time "legal pot" comes up on your state's ballot.
You ever see squatch up that way? Supposed to be good territory for them. I always have wondered why they haven't bothered the grows?
Took my son on a moose hunting trip in Alaska. Launched our boat and traveled about 600 miles until we reached the Huslia river. We were in some really thick brush calling/raking to a nice bull. He was about 25 yards away thrashing the brush like crazy but we couldn’t get a clear shot. Next thing we heard were a pack of wolves that surrounded the moose (and us) howling and yipping to each other. The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. The bull took off and so did the wolves. I guess there were 6-8 wolves and if they had decided to attack us we would of been gonners.
Pre season scouting, Klamath Natl Forest, stumbled into a huge 3 acre pot grow, complete with irrigation and camo netting. I backed out very carefully and quietly, and sure enough 6 weeks later, big front page news article on a big Mex cartel bust in the same drainage. DEA deported the farmers after questioning, they all claimed the Cartel was holding their families in Mexico hostage, to prevent the farmers from stealing the bud and running with it. Firearms were confiscated. It's a vicious industry. Now the Mex cartels are fading and the Hmong rule the industry in our county. Think about that next time "legal pot" comes up on your state's ballot.
You ever see squatch up that way? Supposed to be good territory for them. I always have wondered why they haven't bothered the grows?
Scouting for bear for the first time with a buddy. A guy told us to look for the little posts that have the signs on them for directing snowmobiles on the forest trails in the winter. He said that bears just love to chew and rub on them. Sure enough we found one, chewed up and covered in black hair. Behind it was a 3 foot diameter circle (like a portal) going into the the thick brush and trees. We crawled through it until we could stand and we were standing next to a big deadfall planning where we would put the bait. All of the sudden we heard an angry growl and jaws popping about 5 feet into the deadfall. We hauled ass out of there. No crawling was done! lol
A few days later, we were setting up a bait WAY back in some real nasty stuff. Like 10' tall willows growing 6 inches apart. We had to use a chain saw just to make a path to get back there.
All of the sudden, what sounded like an old wind up siren on a fire truck froze us in our tracks. It broke into a howl and then the rest of the pack of wolves opened up. They couldn't have been more than 75 yards away.
When they say the hair stands up on the back of your neck, they are not lying.
Took my son on a moose hunting trip in Alaska. Launched our boat and traveled about 600 miles until we reached the Huslia river. We were in some really thick brush calling/raking to a nice bull. He was about 25 yards away thrashing the brush like crazy but we couldn’t get a clear shot. Next thing we heard were a pack of wolves that surrounded the moose (and us) howling and yipping to each other. The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. The bull took off and so did the wolves. I guess there were 6-8 wolves and if they had decided to attack us we would of been gonners.
Goners? Really? 2 of you, presumably both with guns?
I’ll admit that when the Lab and I got surrounded by a pack in heavy cover it got interesting, and the view back into the brush from the 8’ wide trail was more like 20 feet. We went home with a pelt, they went away with one less.
Was working on a ranch on the eastern slope in Montana.
Doing some fencing work in the spring. Was working afoot walking down a fence that dropped into a slough and climbed back up a hill. Real thick brush in the bottom but an animal trail went through it right along the fence. So I dropped to all fours and crawled through.Right in the middle of the brush,maybe 10+ yards in, I look down in the soft mud and see a cat track. The edges of the mud were really fine and still really moist. To me, that meant really fresh.I had the momentary thought of WTF am I doing here on my hands and knees in this mess and I flat out shot out the other side of that brush.
I decided that was not my savviest move ever in the great outdoors.
Took my son on a moose hunting trip in Alaska. Launched our boat and traveled about 600 miles until we reached the Huslia river. We were in some really thick brush calling/raking to a nice bull. He was about 25 yards away thrashing the brush like crazy but we couldn’t get a clear shot. Next thing we heard were a pack of wolves that surrounded the moose (and us) howling and yipping to each other. The hair on the back of my neck literally stood up. The bull took off and so did the wolves. I guess there were 6-8 wolves and if they had decided to attack us we would of been gonners.
Goners? Really? 2 of you, presumably both with guns?
I’ll admit that when the Lab and I got surrounded by a pack in heavy cover it got interesting, and the view back into the brush from the 8’ wide trail was more like 20 feet. We went home with a pelt, they went away with one less.
Curiosa where u put in at - Fairbanks?
Launch at the haul road on the Yukon then ran to the Koyukuk then to the Huslia.
In the Adirondacks in the late Spring / early summer I was hiking between a couple of lakes, I knew there were bears in the area and had scared the crap out of a cub in an berry patch earlier and he went running down the lane... I thought, what the heck is a black dog with bad legs doing way the heck out here.
I got to the creek between the lakes and was looking at the mossy ground and saw a HUGE bear print... really clean. I bent down and looked at it, and it began to fill with water, relatively fast... Just then I realized.. that wasn’t a dog... Awh Chit !!...
I clutched my Marlin 39A like that kid in the Christmas movie clutched his red Ryder and thought... I could put Momma’s eye out.. I decided to back track and get the heck out of there because of the cub.
Ha remembered another one - not to scary, but enough to tighten the pshyncter up
Bow hunting in Delaware, I decided to still hunt ... I was working my way around a swampy marsh, but staying in the edge of the woods. Got to one point and I wanted to watch an open spot a while, but there was arm sized log in the deer trail I was on, so I put one knee on each side of it...
SNAKE ! FUGH!... I was a black racer, biggest one I’d ever seen, scared the piss out of me.
Launch at the haul road on the Yukon then ran to the Koyukuk then to the Huslia.[/quote]
Yeh, that would do it. The year we lived in Galena, I had a boat already at Manley on the Tanana (we have a cabin about halfway between Manley and Tanana, and up a tributary) , picked the wife up in Tanana and headed down. IIRC that was only about 230 miles, but it being 1977, I may not recall the milage well. She had taken our truck to Nenana , put it on the barge, and flew herself down to Tanana.
I was about 17 years old out in the middle of no where near the idaho Nevada border driving around in the middle of a pitch black night. Stopped on a hill side for a minute and we were talking 2 in the bed of a Toyota and 2 in the front.
All the suddened we see the black outline of something about 8 feet tall running towards us. We hurry and turn on the spotlight and hear drop the light or I'll shoot. Turns out it was the local cowboy on a horse. He had his Blackhawk drawn, hammer back, finger on the trigger.
He later said he though we might be environmentalists messing with the cows and he already had the ravine picked out where he planned to dump our bodies. Before the light came on my first thought was Bigfoot and I was terrified.
Some Kinda Hybrid Wolf, It was almost as big as a black bear. I was on a tree and i saw it. It look right back at me and walked away. Thank God wolves can't climb trees.
after an evening elk hunt until dark, we were walking a well used path back to the truck. The path carried us along a noisy little creek, which completely muffled any sound from the well used trail. As there was a little moonlight, I prefer “not” to used lights.....preferring my eyes to be adjusted to the low light conditions. I was 3rd person in line...when it happened! I’m not sure if I heard something or “sensed” something behind me. As I turned, it was less than 3 feet behind me, approximately 7 to 8 feet in height and about 3 feet wide at it’s widest point. I got out a guttural grunt in absolute horror while attempting the bring my rifle to action.....but, it was so close I couldn’t bring the rifle around. It was at that moment, I realized that it was a horse and rider. The rider was a young kid, asleep in the saddle.The other riders of the group all got a big laugh, while I was composing myself and verifying I hadn’t “soiled” myself! 
memtb
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